Second from bottom, worst goal difference in the Championship, only 0.81 points per game so far, and an interim manager. There can be no argument, things need to change if we are going to avoid relegation. Time for panic?...
Read the latest CAS Trust article (including recent survey results)
here.
Comments
They've done this. At the meeting the CEO huffed and sneered saying they've repeatedly told us what the (completely unworkable) strategy is.
Can keep asking the same question but you're not going to get a different answer
Nothing now to stop the Trust backing and even organising protests. The survey says that is what people want.
Protest and dialogue do not have to be mutually exclusive. If anything the first makes the second more likely.
As a Trust member I admire your persistence and I hope your view that keeping Duchatalet and Miere in control but with the Trust there to help them move to a footballing strategy comes off. I hope this is the last olive branch though too. You really have given them enough opportunities.
I will continue to boycott, convince others to boycott and call for nothing less than Miere to be sacked and the owner to sell.
Pleasing.
I do understand the continued commitment to working with the club avoiding a them and us situation arising......BUT. This course must be strictly time limited with set goals to be achieved. Any reluctance or stage managing by Miere has to be met with an immediate change of tack to one of embattlement. They have got away with murder and this has to be stopped.
I hope you Trust boys know where and when to draw a line in the sand.
Let's see people
Let's see freedom
Let's see who cares.
So for me pushing that issue is important, as if successful it will either reveal some genius master plan(very VERY unlikely IMO) or we get the blunt truth about the plans for our club out in public, which should be the final eye opener for those in our fan base still believing the current ownership want the best for our first team as their main goal.
The Trust should be a focal point for protests while dialogue and/or fan consultation proceeds. Organise; Publicise; Support; Actively lead.
The club seems just to be paying lip service to real fan engagement. So, unless the Trust are privately seeing positive and tangible signs of a more humble, inclusive and realistic approach from Meire, the time for action is fast approaching.
The gist of the statement does pop up a question for me though -
If 90% want organized protest, 75% think we're being relegated and one-third are thinking of not renewing their seasons ticket, there's a clear message of worry for the future of the club, add that to the results etc. since the survey - what is there compelling enough in the survey answers and Board discussions to make "continuing to pursue dialogue" the predominant tactic for the past few weeks and into February?
It doesn't need to be a long march, so even the less able can participate.
We could even meet up in Charlton Park, nice & convenient for everyone attending a match.
Loads of room for the thousands to mass and then just march down the hill together. Everyone can join in and we can still support the team.
March starts Saturday 2nd January 2pm for the Notts F game, which is 3pm KO ?
We could leave it to the Blackburn game Saturday 23rd January, but might be too late by then.
We're a bit short of time, but with social media it's possible.
Inform the media.
Say we are the 2%, say we're the 2%.
I'm going to put this on a seperate thread.
Tell her Target 20k is a thing of the past and if they want 20k then they have to earn it, we're out as fans, then progress with the protests and make a damn right good go of it. You can't go to war with someone you're bending over backwards for to help.
The mood has changed.
The Trust Board are recognising this and formulating a plan that they believe is the best way of tackling the issue.
That's why we voted for them and pay our subs.
I think we need to now show support for what our representatives decide to do. Let's get behind them.
All of them work very hard and it's a thankless task. I know from experience.
We are Charlton Athletic supporters. It's our Trust let's get behind them in this fight.
I can't quite agree with this CASTrust, in these situations you can't really choose what you 'want' unfortunately. What we want is something we won't get, how long do you keep prolonging it expecting them to be on our side? The final straw has broke the camels back for most here, and it's time to tell them to scrap their lack of communication; and fight their way of running our club. Any fight they give back will be in the public eye, and any change for the positive, great; a success.
I do appreciate that you want this to be as civilised as possible trying to keep friends with those in charge, but they will be using you if you do that; using you as a shield for them.. Don't allow that, first step is to get rid of that pesky Target 20k,aka we've messed up and want your free help to get us some more bums on seats and preferably ones that don't care so much about CHARLTON ATHLETIC FOOTBALL CLUB and just want something to do on a Saturday and spend money while they are at it.
Off for some Christmas Festivities, but we need this fight to start once these are over. Or find yourself losing the general fans support.
It shouldn't be forgotten - shortly after arriving he said in an interview that the difference between him and other owners was that he didn't care about winning. It obviously never saw the light of day, but he said it. I don't see what dialogue there is to be had.
The battle could be a costly one if it happens.
The battle could be a sustained one if it happens.
In Rolands latest interview (the Alan Turing/visionary/ 'I've been telling them all along but they don't listen') he describes the thousands of football fans sitting around on the internet all day, presumably in their undercrackers, writing on forums, and he says 'I can't compete with that'.
This indicates at least two things, stuff on the internet he dismisses at a stroke, and that he is in competition with his own Charlton Athletic fans, not in harmony or co-operation, but an opposing force. Maybe that is what building a better tomorrow together means to him, tomorrow is better if the fans and club are at daggers drawn.
So we know that an internet campaign won't work but there is a lot of other stuff that can be done.
I will start a list.
Season ticket boycott.
Match boycott.
Spending at the ground boycott.
Demonstrations at the Valley
A presence at the gates of Sparrows Lane.
Demonstrations at Sparrows Lane during the week (it can be done from loads of surrounding points)
Disruption (constant criss crossing of the street or entrances, or use of 'broken down' vehicles) of away team coach arriving at the Valley, or various opponents arriving at Sparrows Lane.
Disruption of matches as in the tennis ball, pitch invasion, drone idea. NOTE some of this would be illegal.
Bombard the club with e-mails and clog up their phone systems, fax pages of black paper to use up all their ink, send unstamped letters they might have to pay to receive, fill up the voicemails.
Bombard Delaware Catering with complaints.
Encounter certain significant club people as they travel to and from work and gently but determinedly remind them of what you think, causing them to spend on taxi's or transport with blacked out windows.
Use twitter and other stuff to urge new signings NOT to sign and tell them they will not be welcome at Charlton.
Contact all football agents and advise them against sending their clients to play for Charlton.
Banners and chants and black and white stuff at matches.
A mass purchase of tickets behind the dug outs and in front of the directors box and spend the whole time chanting and telling the coaches and the directors what you think.
Hiring as much deafening 'sound system' as possible and using it as a mobile facility to disrupt during working hours, or at the Valley environs during games, or at Sparrows Lane during training.
Selected fans deliberately finding it difficult to enter the turnstiles using the technology and clog up entry as each person takes ten minutes to sort it out, if the stewards try to help, pretend you only speak Flemish.
Ok a lot of that is childish, and some ill advised, and some against the law, and loads of it is nasty and vindictive. However it is a list that can be added to, and probably about 50% of the ideas could work.
If Roland can't compete with folk on the internet, maybe he will be affected by some direct action...if it is sustained.
I would be prepared to do quite a lot of this stuff myself.
Some good ideas and some not so good.
I've heard Katrien like eggs & they were always good value at school.
My post is more thinking out loud, and is inspired by the fact that Roland dismisses internet stuff at a stroke.
hic
@seth plum only joking mate